A Special Police Officer (SPO) was killed and eight security force personnel wounded, two critically, on Sunday in an explosion in the Bani forest area in Kathua district of Jammu and Kashmir, police said.

Police assisted by the army had launched a search operation in the Rolka forest area of Kathua district following an attack on a police post early on Sunday, Superintendent of Police (Kathua) M K Sinha told PTI on phone from Kathua.

During the operation a Special Police Officer was killed after militants, who were hiding in the forest, triggered an IED around 1100 IST, Sinha said adding eight others were injured in the incident.

Additional troops were rushed to the area to track down the militants responsible for the incident, the SP said.

The SPO has been identified as Ashok Kumar and those critically wounded included Assistant Sub-Inspector Tarseem Lal and an army havaldar, he said.